August 10, 2008 | 12:00am
When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back...” - Genesis 19:16-17
Almost every youngster who goes to Sunday school remembers that Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. Jesus made a reference to this woman whose life was taken in judgment. He spoke three words: “Remember Lot’s wife.”
When Moses recorded the drama, he identified her as being the wife of Abraham’s nephew whose name was Lot. Lot had left Haran with Abraham. Once they entered into Canaan, God blessed them. Their flocks and herds grew. Finally, there wasn’t enough pasture and water for both flocks so Abraham said, “Lot, take your choice. If you go left, I‘ll go right. I want no conflict between us.”
Lot looked towards the fertile Jordan Valley and chose the green pastures near Sodom, probably at the southern end of the Dead Sea. There he prospered but also faced the dilemma that confronts parents today: “How do you raise godly kids in a depraved, ungodly world?”
God is patient, but there is an end to His patience. Eventually, God sent two angelic messengers instructing Lot and his family to leave. The message was simple: “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!” As they were fleeing, Lot’s wife looked back, thinking, “Surely one last fleeting glance can’t matter.” But it did, and she faced the consequences of her failure.
This story is a somber reminder that we must loosely hold the possessions that seem so important to us – homes, cars, jewelry, and so on. A divided heart can never please God.
If only Lot’s wife could have seen that God was preserving her family from the judgment that was to fall on Sodom. Never look back.
